Sunday, June 20, 2010

Fulfilment is a state of mind, which every one wishes to have. Now the question is how do we get into such a state of mind? For that, we need to understand what is fulfilment and why are we seeking it. The very understanding it self may change our thoughts on fulfilment or may cease such thoughts itself. If it happens, there will be no more seeking on fulfilment!

We seek fulfilment only when we are discontent with what we are. It is a state of mind where the discontent or the thought of discontent dominates. The feeling of discontentment is a psychological phenomenon which gets strengthened when we compare ourselves materialistically or qualitatively with others. It may be that we compare ‘what we are’ with ‘what we should be’. We get into the idea of ‘what should be’ by means of ideals we have. The comparison triggers our ego, either in the positive or in the negative direction with respect to the current state of ego. In other words, the discontentment is an activity of our ego.

The ego is the “I centeredness” or the qualities we attach ourselves to identify ourselves. When we start understanding our ego or the qualities we attach with ourselves, we start approaching the maturity level of accepting ‘what we are’ and live the life of our own – not to imitate or try to live the life of any body else and hence there is no struggle for reaching ‘what should be’.

The state of mind corresponds to fulfilment is momentary, but the struggle for that state of mind is too long and this struggle in turn deteriorate our mind further. In this cycle, the state of mind corresponding to the feeling of fulfilment may not be possible. When we are content with ourselves, there may not be any feeling of emptiness and hence no need arises for filling any emptiness. Hence there is no requirement arises for fulfilment. On the other hand, when we are content, there will not be any thoughts with in us which demands for fulfilment. In other words the mind is completely calm. This means, the brain has its energy to spend on useful action rather then spending on deteriorating thoughts.

The action induced by the quest for fulfilment or due to discontent is a trap. As noted above, discontentment is due to our urge to move from “what we are’ to ‘what we should be’. ‘What we are’ is the truth and ‘What we should be’ can never be the truth. When our action is towards ‘What should be’, it is towards an illusionary point. But the action towards this illusionary point also produces certain result, which we must accept any way – and in most cases we welcome those results. As the action is towards a point far away from ‘what we are’, the result will also be far away from ‘what we are’. Now we are entangled with this result, as we did our action for that result and keep moving away from ‘what we are’. Now this result demand for many more actions which will be much against the fact ‘what we are’ and there is no escape… we are in a trap! We may not realise this trap, but start suffering from the chain of actions/events due to this trap.

The process of conceptualisation may lead us to the conclusion that if we are content with ‘what we are’, we may not seek and hence our progress in any direction stops at the point where we are content. Being content with “what we are” is not a substitute for activeness. Living is being active. We can live content with ‘what we are’. In fact that is living! When we are living, we are active and hence there is no standstill in our progress in any direction and that progress will be in the right direction. If our action is induced by the discontentment it can never be the right action and hence it can induce only suffering – the progress we can see on such actions are jut virtual progress, induced by the feeling of discontentment.